PAULINE MATTHEW

“I retired from teaching five years ago. I was a teacher for 31 years, but I was certified for 17. I am enjoying retirement, but I am still very busy, with the City Council and being one of the Board of Directors for QHI (Qanirtuuq Heritage Inc.). I loved teaching, I loved teaching Yupik. I got to go out and interview elders and talk to them about the language and teach it to my elementary students. I loved teaching my students what my mother taught me, to respect the land, the water, because everything is given to us, and if we respect it, it will return to us every year. I don’t have as much strength as I used to, but I harvest what I need every summer to have enough to get us through the winter. I get what I need with the help of my family and my grandson.

It’s getting harder though, back when the schools were with BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs), everyone at the schools talked in their own language, but now, after how many years, with all the technology, the children are not that verbal in Yupik. They can understand but speak in English. It’s sad, but at the same time, we can do the best we can to teach them their culture while speaking English.”—Pauline Matthew is Yup’ik from Quinhagak, Alaska.